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EnterpriseDB: Federal Agencies Turn to PostgreSQL to Cut Costs

EnterpriseDB announced that U.S. government agencies are moving to Postgres to cut costs as federal budgets tighten.

EnterpriseDB, a provider of enterprise-class PostgreSQL products and Oracle database compatibility solutions, announced that several federal government agencies are turning away from commercial database vendors to EnterpriseDB to cut their database costs.

Indeed, the company said shrinking budgets and ongoing battles in Congress have prompted U.S. government agencies to turn increasingly to open-source database options like Postgres, many with the help of EnterpriseDB, to slash database costs by as much as 80 percent. EnterpriseDB now works with more than 40 federal agencies with deployments of Postgres and EnterpriseDB products.

Federal agencies using Postgres include the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Labor and multiple agencies throughout the Department of Defense (DOD). The number of government agencies among the more than 2,000 organizations in EnterpriseDB's customer base rose by 40 percent over the past year as budget battles in Congress signaled that belt-tightening and deep cost cutting could become a long-term reality.

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"EnterpriseDB slashes costs and reduces the risks inherent in migrating to a new database, and our government customers need our partnership to ensure success," Ed Boyajian, CEO of EnterpriseDB, said in a statement. "In this time of fiscal budget crisis, government IT leaders are becoming heroes by moving from costly commercial databases to lower-cost open-source options without sacrificing on performance requirements. It just makes good sense for everyone."

EnterpriseDB officials noted that many federal IT directors are actively seeking to increase their use of open-source technologies to cut costs and stay up-to-date with evolving technology trends. Open-source software has gotten significant attention and promotion under the Obama Administration, and agencies have been aggressively developing open-source initiatives.

"More and more agencies are deploying open-source solutions and are migrating from costly proprietary software," Natalie Gregory, vice president of open-source solutions at Carahsoft, which serves as EnterpriseDB's Master Government Aggregator, said in a statement. "EnterpriseDB is leading the way with cost savings and minimal risk in migrating to Postgres. The governments' adoption of Postgres and EnterpriseDB is growing and will only continue due to their proven track record of success."

The U.S. government, in fact, has a long history with Postgres, EnterpriseDB said. The original Postgres project, begun in the mid-1980s, was funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a division of the DOD that funds advanced research. Since that time, Postgres has evolved into an advanced open-source database with a dedicated community of contributors ensuring high levels of quality and security with each release.

EnterpriseDB has integrated a series of enhancements to meet the higher level of requirements from enterprise-class applications into the Postgres open core, including increased performance, strengthened security and tools for greater oversight and management. EnterpriseDB's PostgreSQL solutions are replacing Oracle or are being deployed in lieu of expanding Oracle at some of the world's largest companies as well as federal agencies, the company said.

In related news EnterpriseDB also announced the expansion of its government group with the hire of Loren Osborn, a former Gartner analyst, as director of government operations.

"The number of government agencies and defense contractors who are taking advantage of the price-performance leadership of Postgres is rising steadily," Boyajian said in a statement. "Loren's longtime hands-on experience helping federal agencies procure and deploy new technologies is a tremendous asset for our customers in their transition to Postgres. His high-level relationships will also help expand our access and depth of conversations with agencies deploying more sensitive applications."

The federal government represents a significant and growing customer base for EnterpriseDB. The pace of change has also begun to accelerate after a federal agency review found using Postgres software and support from EnterpriseDB for a proposed project would cost 92 percent less than Oracle, the company said.

"Because of its deep Postgres expertise and successful track record within the federal government, EnterpriseDB is a highly desired partner among agencies seeking to deploy open-source technologies," Osborn said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to helping federal agencies save money and improve performance with Postgres and EnterpriseDB."

Osborn joins EnterpriseDB from Gartner, where he was head of the U.S. Navy program and helped related clients with strategies, planning, execution and management of new technology projects. Prior to that, he was director of defense and intelligence at Micro Focus, where he led enterprise software sales for COBOL systems at multiple branches of the DOD. He also brings more than a decade of experience from similar leadership roles in enterprise technology sales at Centrifuge, Noetix and Unicorn, all of which provide technology solutions to the federal government.

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